In a continuing effort to improve the quality of shipping fruits, I, the inventor, typically hybridize a large number of peach, nectarine, plum, apricot, and cherry seedlings each year. I also grow a smaller number of open pollinated seeds of each of these fruits, usually to capture recessive traits. The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of nectarine tree, which has been denominated varietally as ‘Pearlicious XVII’.
In the flowering season of 2003 I hybridized a first generation cross using ‘28P1130’ (unpatented) yellow flesh freestone nectarine as the selected seed parent and ‘1P861’ (unpatented) white flesh nectarine as the selected pollen parent. The fruit of this cross was gathered in the summer of 2003, and the seeds were removed from the fruit, germinated, stratified, and grown as seedlings on their own root in my greenhouse. Upon reaching dormancy the following winter, the seedlings were transplanted as a group to a cultivated area of my experimental orchard located near Le Grand, Calif., in Merced County (San Joaquin Valley). During the fruit evaluation season of 2007 I selected the present variety as a single tree from the group of seedlings described above. Subsequent to origination of the present variety of nectarine tree, I asexually reproduced it by budding and grafting in the experimental orchard described above, and such reproduction of tree and fruit characteristics were true to the original tree in all respects. The reproduction of the variety included the use of ‘Nemaguard’ (unpatented) rootstock upon which the present variety was compatible and true to type.
While both of the parents are unpatented, the ‘1P861’ nectarine was itself a first generation cross between ‘Bright Pearl’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,359) white flesh nectarine as its selected seed parent and ‘Diamond Ray’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,848) yellow flesh nectarine as its selected pollen parent.
The present variety is similar to its grand-parent, ‘Bright Pearl’ nectarine (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,359) by being self-fertile and producing white flesh clingstone nectarines, but is quite distinguished therefrom by having a sweet instead of bitter kernel and by maturing about fifty days later.
The present variety is similar to its pollen grand-parent, ‘Diamond Ray’ nectarine (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,948) by being self-fertile and producing clingstone nectarines, but is quite distinguished therefrom by having globose instead of reniform leaf glands and producing fruit that is white instead of yellow in flesh color and that matures about sixty days later.
The present variety is similar to its seed parent, ‘28P1130,’ in several aspects, such as producing nectarines that are firm and mostly red in skin color, but it is quite distinguished therefrom by producing nectarines that are white flesh instead of yellow flesh, that are clingstone instead of freestone, and that ripen about ten days later.
The present variety is similar to its pollen parent, ‘1P861,’ in several aspects, such as producing nectarines that are firm, clingstone, and mostly red in skin color, but it is quite distinguished therefrom by producing nectarines that ripen about twenty-five days later.
The present variety is most similar to ‘Snow Pearl’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 14,695) nectarine by having a moderately vigorous tree, having globose leaf glands, being self-fertile, and producing white flesh clingstone nectarines that are firm, are mostly red in skin color, and have a sweet kernel, but is distinguished therefrom by producing fruit that is larger in size, matures about fifteen days later, is somewhat sweeter, and is a balance of light acid and sugar rather than sub-acid in flavor.